The European Union is offering expertise support and vaccines to China to help the country cope with the new spike in COVID-19 cases, European Commission spokespeople said on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd January, 2023) The European Union is offering expertise support and vaccines to China to help the country cope with the new spike in COVID-19 cases, European Commission spokespeople said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the Financial Times reported, citing EU officials, that the bloc has offered free COVID-19 vaccines to China to help the country contain the rapid spread of the disease as Beijing prepares to end strict lockdown measures and open its borders.
"We are following developments in China and as we have also said before Christmas, we have always offered our support to China as we have with any countries around the world to help address COVID-19," the commission's deputy chief spokesperson Dana Spinant told a briefing.
Tim McPhie, the commission's spokesman for climate action and energy, also addressed the briefing, regarding the situation with the coronavirus in China.
"In view of the COVID situation in China, (EU Health) Commissioner (Stella) Kyriakides has reached out to her Chinese counterpart to offer the EU solidarity and support and this includes public health expertise as well as EU vaccine donations," McPhie told a briefing.
McPhie added that the commission is yet to receive a response from the Chinese side.
In December, China announced that it was abandoning its zero-tolerance policy for COVID-19 and preparing to reopen its borders in January. The end of nearly three years of strict measures in a country of 1.4 billion people is feared to potentially lead to a massive spread of the disease across the globe.
